‘You’ll Be Laughing, Great Falls You’ll Be...

Great Falls Connection ❖ November 18-24, 2015 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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November 18-24, 2015

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Great FallsGreat Falls‘You’ll Be Laughing,You’ll Be Crying’Entertainment, Page 12

Langley High Schoolstudents Liam Nimick

of McLean andBridget Fitzgerald ofGreat Falls performin “Almost, Maine”

this weekend at theLangley School.

InsideHoliday Entertainment,

Dining & Gift Guide


Dining & Gift Guide


Dining & Gift Guide

House for Sale,Complete Loss

News, Page 3

Bridge toAltruism

News, Page 5


News, Page 3

Bridge toAltruism

News, Page 5

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ November 18-24, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Great Falls Connection ❖ November 18-24, 2015 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, LangleyHigh School senior SwethaRamesh traveled to Harvard

University in Cambridge, Mass. whereshe was invited to present her 501(c)(3)nonprofit SILVER (Students for IncreasedLegislation on Voter Engagementthrough Registration) as part of a paneldiscussion on millennial political engage-ment. The panel discussion was hostedby Harvard’s Community Action Commit-tee (CAC) and was held on campus atthe Kennedy School of Government. Thepanel members included CongressmanDennis Hertel (Ret., D-Mich.), Massachu-setts State Senator Sal DiDomenico, (D-Suffolk, Middlesex), Dr. Wasif Syed(named as Huffington Post’s “top fivepeople inspiring peace”), and Ramesh.“My aim in reaching out to Harvard was

to drum up grassroots support for SILVER’sinitiative. I had already presented SILVERto my history class at Langley and I wantedto see if I could take this one step furtherand reach out to universities,” said Ramesh.

SWETHA founded SILVER in July of 2015along with students Camille Edwards fromC.D. Hylton High School, Kathleen Lovainfrom T.C. Williams High School, GraceBlanchard from Highland High School andMallory Williamson from Dominion HighSchool in order to advocate for automaticvoter registration with a driver’s licensecoupled with a lower pre-registration age.Ramesh attended the Virginia Governor’sSchool Program for the Humanities atRadford University over the summer and itwas there that she first developed the ideafor SILVER. “I took a class on political en-

gagement and was surprised to learn ex-actly how bad political apathy has becometoday, especially among young people. Iwanted to start SILVER to give millenials away to become part of political conversa-tion nationwide and to hopefully inspireyoung people to become more politicallyengaged in their own communities.” Sinceits founding SILVER has made significantprogress in advocating for its initiatives.Virginia’s Democratic State Del. KathleenMurphy (D-34) met with Ramesh aboutSILVER’s initiative and pledged her supportfor the idea. Ramesh was also able to dis-cuss SILVER’s initiative on Capitol Hill withCongressman Jim McDermott, a seniormember of the House Ways and MeansCommittee and Congressman Don Beyer’s

A Great Falls house on River ParkLane that was listed for sale is a“complete loss” after a fire Mon-day morning, according to the

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.It took firefighters several hours to bring

the fire under control. One firefighter wastreated for non-life-threatening injuries,according to fire and rescue reports.

The house was vacant, and had been ad-vertised for sale at an auction scheduled forNov. 21. Previously listed at $3.25 millionaccording to publicity for the auction, thehouse had six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

The fire marked one of the biggest fire

losses of the year, said Captain RandyBittinger with Fairfax County Fire and Res-cue. Because there are no fire hydrants inthat section of Great Falls, five tanker trucksshuttled back and forth to the scene to pro-vide more than 30,000 gallons of water tofight the fire, Bittinger said. The house wasmore than 10,000 square feet and had morethan 100 windows.

“Fire was spewing from all four sideswhen we arrived,” Bittinger said.

At its peak 75 firefighters battled the blazein the unoccupied home.

“Firefighters encountered a large one-story home fully involved with fire upon

arrival,” according to fire and rescue re-ports. Personnel responded to the house firearound 1 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, accord-ing to reports.

“Firefighters initiated an exterior defen-sive fire attack while simultaneously call-ing for a tanker task force, then

transitioning to an interior attack,” the Fireand Rescue report said.

Several additional specialty units and sev-eral tankers assisted in putting out the fire.

The fire is under investigation.

— Ken Moore


Swetha Ramesh invited to present nonprofit at Harvard.

Langley Senior Aims to Engage Young Voters

Photo contributed

Langley senior Swetha Rameshwas invited to present her non-profit at Harvard University.See SILVER, Page 6

News

Great Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

The house on RiverPark Lane was sched-uled for auction onNov. 21 before it wasdestroyed in a fire onMonday, Nov. 16.

Photo by

DeCaro Luxury

Auctions

The house on River Park Lane in Great Falls was consumed by the fire.

Firefighters attack the Great Falls blaze with hoses. The house wasvacant and for sale.

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9835 GEORGETOWN PIKE, GREAT FALLS, VA 22066

703-759-4000

THIRSTY THURSDAYHAPPY HOUR ALL DAY!

COME & WATCH EVERY NFL GAME EVERY SUNDAY.

www.trinystexmexgrill.com

News

By Ken Moore

The Connection

Karen Magley teaches bridge three days aweek at Christ the King Lutheran Churchin Great Falls.

“Chicken soup for the brain,” said Magley, a GreatFalls resident. “It makes you think, it keeps thosesynapses going.”

“I love watching the people learn something new.I love each new class find 20 new friends. Whetherthey learn to play well or not, they come out ahead,”she said.

She has taught some of her students for 10-12years. “Every hand is different,” shesaid. “That’s why people come backyear after year.’

“No matter how much I’ve playedbridge and think I’ve seen all thepermutations and combinations, thevery next turn I get, I say, ‘Hmmmm,how do I play this?’” said Holly Kuga.

Last Saturday, The Great Falls Friends and Neigh-bors Jamboree Club hosted its 12th Annual BridgeJamboree at Christ the King Church.

The tournament enables Great Falls and Neighborsto give scholarships to adult women returning toacademics.

The group raised more than $5,000 at Saturday’sevent.

A luncheon for award recipients is held in Sep-tember at the River Bend Country Club.

About 65 participated, and 60 volunteers helped,including making more than 14 desserts.

Five hours into the tournament, 12 tables were stillgoing strong.

“It’s a little different from running a marathon,”said Kuga, of the social and enjoyable fundraiser. “Weplay bridge for a philanthropic purpose.”

“It’s a good way to find others that play bridge,too,” said Magley.

Great Falls Friends and Neighborshas existed for 35 years, and is a re-sult of a 2011 merger of two localclubs, the Great Falls Woman’s Cluband Newcomers of Great Falls. Thereare more than 200 active members.

“We’d love to have more men nextyear,” said Magley.

More than 40 Christmas ornaments were sold dur-ing the tournament which raises money for theArtemis House, a shelter for women and childrenfleeing domestic violence.

See http://gffnva.org.

Bridge to Altruism

What’s NextAnother fundraiser, a cooking

demonstration at L’Auberge ChezFrancois is planned for January2016 to benefit the charity, KidsR First. See http://gffnva.org.

Approximately 60 bridge players came tothe 12th Annual Bridge Jamboree at Christthe King Church in Great Falls. Rekha Arness, of McLean, plays her hand.

AllisonGranstedt,Karen Magley,Barbara Gwizdzand Holly Kugaorganized theBridge Jambo-ree. JudyMahanes andLaura Bumpusare not pic-tured.

Photos by

Ken Moore/

The Connection


From Page 3

News

(Virginia’s 8th District) legislativeaide, both of whom pledged theirsupport for SILVER’s initiative aswell. After this positive responsefrom the legislators, Ramesh de-cided to see if she could startspreading the word about SILVERat universities. The panel discus-sion at Harvard was open to allstudents and Ramesh was able todiscuss the issue of millennialvoter engagement one-on-onewith them. Some of the discus-sions included the possibility ofincorporating political engage-ment into secondary school cur-riculum, reducing political disillu-sionment, and creating policiesthat would help make voter regis-tration more secure. Ramesh hadhoped to generate some ideas onhow to mobilize young voters andfound that the Harvard studentshad some insightful suggestions.“I really enjoyed the opportunityto talk to the students; they hadsome really innovative ideas onhow to increase political engage-ment. I’ve definitely learned a lotfrom them and their ideas arehelping shape my vision for

SILVER’s future,” said Ramesh.Currently both Oregon and Cali-

fornia have adopted automaticvoter registration and 17 otherstates have legislation pending onthe topic, most of which has beenintroduced in the past year. In ad-dition, 10 states have already en-acted legislation allowing 16 and17 year olds to pre-register to voteeven if they will not be turning 18by the next election year. However,SILVER’s proposal is the only onethat combines both initiatives tospecifically target young voters. “Ithink there’s still a lot of work tobe done with regards to gettingyounger people to vote. Issues thatconcern millennials are often leftout of political debates, and youngpeople often just don’t feel thattheir vote counts. I’m hoping tochange that with SILVER and showpeople that their opinion reallycan make a big difference.” In thefuture Ramesh hopes to continueto advocate for young people withSILVER as well as focus more oncommunity-based events that en-courage younger voters.

IN COLLEGE Ramesh hopes topursue her interests in politics,

business, and media arts, hopingto use these three areas of inter-est as platforms for social change.In addition to SILVER Ramesh isalso the host of an internationaltelevision show “Business World,Business Class” on Global Televi-sion Network, which reaches 2.5

million viewers. On the show sheinterviews successful businessowners in order to inspire the nextgeneration of entrepreneurs.

More information on SILVERcan be found at

www.silvervoting.org.

Books Neededfor LibraryBook Sale

The Friends of the GreatFalls Library is acceptingbooks in good condition forthe book sale, being held Fri-day and Saturday, Nov. 20 and21 beginning at 10 a.m. Booksof all types, excepting text-books, are sold to help raisefunds for library programs.Especially needed are gentlyused children’s’ books.

Books should be dropped offat the library before Nov. 19,when the sale will be set up.Tax deductible receipts will beprovided at the desk.

For those wanting first crackat the book sale, a Pre-sale andReception with refreshmentsfor members of the Friendsgroup will be held Nov. 19from 6 to 8 p.m. Membershipcan be purchased at the doorfor a one-night-only price of$15. Scanners will not be per-mitted at this event only.

Questions can be directed tothe Great Falls Library, locatedat 9830 Georgetown Pike inGreat Falls, 703-759-8560.

Week in Great Falls

SILVER Project Presented at Harvard

Photo contributed

Langley senior Swetha Ramesh (second from right) pre-sents her nonprofit, SILVER (Students for IncreasedLegislation on Voter Engagement through Registration) atthe Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.


News

By Tim Peterson

The Connection

Fairfax County Public Schools Su-perintendent Karen Garza is at-tempting to scale a towering pro-jected budget shortfall for Fiscal

Year 2017. On Nov. 9, she presented SchoolBoard members the report of budget cutsrecommended by a 36-member task forceshe summoned earlier this year.

A dozen of the task force members wereappointed by the School Board, the rest arerepresentatives from civic associations,teachers associations and other county staff.

Garza instructed the team to make rec-ommendations specifically for the 2017budget with six criteria in mind: the num-ber of students impacted, effect on employ-ees and students, disruption to the system,permanent cuts instead of “one-time” cuts,magnitude of the cut and student outcomesespecially on the core instruction.

“No one — including the Task Force mem-bers — wants to enact significant budgetreductions that will impact classroom andstudent programs,” Garza said in a state-ment. “Their involvement in the processguarantees that a wide variety of voices andsuggestions were heard and seriously con-sidered.”

THE REPORT from the task force includesdozens of ideas for cuts and how those weresupported by task force members, as wellas employees, students and the community,based on input from the “UserVoice” pro-gram, outreach meetings, budget meetingswith School Board members and the onlineBudget Proposal Tool.

The sets of cuts are divided into twogroups — one set that would cut $50 mil-lion from the projected budget and one thatwould cut $75 million — and cover a widearea: Some examples are increasing facil-ity use fees and student parking fees, in-creasing class sizes, eliminating foreign lan-

guage immersion programs and eliminat-ing Level IV Advanced Academic Programcenters in favor of offering that advancedcurriculum at each local school to reducestudent transportation costs.

Garza admitted though the recommenda-tions are just that, and far from final deci-sions, inevitable cuts would negatively im-pact essentially everyone involved withFairfax County Public Schools.

“Reductions will be unavoidable unlesswe receive sufficient revenue to meet ourexpenditure requirements,” Garza said inher statement. “As I’ve said all along, wecannot cut our way to excellence.”

The recommendations were ranked by thepercent of agreement among voting mem-bers of the task force. Two members of thetask force abstained during voting on therecommendations: George Becerra, ap-pointed by At-Large School Board memberIlryong Moon, and Mindy Carlin, represent-ing the Fairfax County Chamber of Com-merce.

A representative from the chamber saidCarlin would not be available to commentpersonally.

Becerra, who currently serves on theBoard of Supervisors and School Board jointSuccessful Children and Youth Policy team,said he wished the task force had conductedits meetings publicly rather than in private,

and that they had been provided with morecomprehensive program evaluation infor-mation on which to base their decisions.

According to the task force report, “Dueto time constraints, the Budget Task Forcewas unable to review programmatic evalu-ations for every potential item and option.”

“How good that program is to a child, it’snot up to me, it’s up to the system to quan-tify it,” Becerra said. “Right now, I don’thave that information in front of me. Ifyou’re going to cut your own family budgetlike this, I think there’d be a divorce in myfamily real quick.”

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herritysent out a statement on the day of Garza’spresentation, also critical the task forcefailed to review the school’s supplementalretirement system, outsourcing or the “func-tions of the many ‘teachers’ that do notspend time in the classroom.”

“The School Budget Task Force missed themark,” Herrity said in the statement.

The task force report did explain thatemployee compensation, health insuranceand retirement are among items being re-viewed and studied, so they weren’t in-cluded in the online budget tool.

Kimberly Adams, president and task forcerepresentative for the Fairfax EducationAssociation, did vote, and said her organi-zation is “not supportive of the majority of

the recommendations as they stand now.”Adams said the whole task force objec-

tive being focused on what to cut ratherthan where else to make up revenue was“hard to hear” from the perspective of edu-cators.

“But you have to cut $50 million out ofthe system, they have to find it somewhere,”Adams said. “We have to pick the best badchoices out of that list. Nothing very palat-able. Raising fees for students is not some-thing I want to see happen, but is it a lessimpactful way to cut money out of the bud-get?”

Matt Haley, who was appointed to the taskforce by School Board member Jane Strauss(Dranesville) and chosen to chair the groupby Garza, said the meetings were kept pri-vate to encourage more open discussion bytask force members.

“We felt it was important for them to beable to share how they felt and what wasfeasible, possible, without being questionedon every statement by their constituents,”said Haley, a retired strategy consultant withAccenture.

Haley said that no program evaluationinformation in existence was withheld fromthe task force. “There was no less data avail-able to us than is available to the SchoolBoard or Board of Supervisors,” he said. “Welooked at everything that’s been studied. Wehad hundreds of questions fed through astaff answered for us. We have a lot moredetailed information than just about anygroup has had in the past, though it is pos-sible more analysis could be done.”

Adams agreed she would like to see moreevaluative data in the future. “We had toassume every program is doing what it’ssupposed to do, meeting their goals,” shesaid.

Garza will make her formal budget pre-sentation to the School Board in January2016. The School Board is scheduled tomake their final decision on the proposedbudget and vote at the May 26, 2016 meet-ing.

FOR GARZA’S PRESENTATION and the fullreport from the task force, visit the Fairfax CountyPublic Schools online document-sharing pro-gram at www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=A3KSVY653B27.

Transparency andmethodology of budgetreview questioned.

Garza Presents Budget Task Force Report to School Board

Photo by Tim Peterson/The Connection

Members of the Fairfax County School Board meet at the school systemheadquarters where superintendent Karen Garza presented a reportfrom the FY 2017 Budget Task Force.

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News

See Faith Notes,

Page 18

Abigail Constantino

The Connection

With the holidays ap-proaching, resi-dents of Great Fallswill have twice as

many more items on their plates,which all have to get done. But itis important to do little things foryourself, said Dr. Jeanette Coutin,founder of Fontaine de JeunesseMedical and Dental Aesthetics Spain Great Falls. “There are littlethings you can do for yourself tobe healthy,” she said during anopen house on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Women gathered to learn aboutthe services the spa offers. The spahas the Venus Legacy machines,which Coutin said melts fat andtightens skin, removing cellulite.

Jackie Chappelear, of Reston,had the worst stretch marks aftergiving birth. She was living inFlorida at the time. “Can you imag-ine living in Florida and not beingable to wear a bikini?” Her mothertold her about Coutin’s spa. Shesaid that without it, she would

never have gotten her figure back.Julie Leinberger lives in Great

Falls and heard about the spa. Shewas looking for something to do forherself as she reached menopause.Her treatments “did an amazingjob” that she decided to leave herjob in accounting and work at thespa. She said that she found moregratification in her second career.“People come out being so relaxedand refreshed. It’s gratifying.”

Shannon Burwell, of Great Falls,comes in for B12 shots, which shesaid increases her energy.

Dr. Nasser Sitta administersmedical procedures, such as botoxand fillers, at the spa. He believesin doing “the least amount [of pro-cedure] that will get you the lookyou are looking for without over-doing it.” But, “some people wantto shock you,” he said, and go formore dramatic results.

Aside from the Venus Legacymachines, the spa also offersdoTerra essential oils and theRegenica skincare line. For moreinformation, go to http://www.wspgtest.com/lbvtest/.

In Great Falls, the Little Things You Dofor Yourself Count

Faith Notes are for announce-ments and events in the faithcommunity. Send to [email protected]. Dead-line is Friday.

The Churches of the Ecu-menical Council are offering aBlue Christmas worship opportu-nity Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2:30 p.m.at Katie’s Coffee House, 760Walker Rd., Great Falls. This is anopportunity to come together ex-pressing the griefs, losses andchallenges of our lives as we con-nect to hope and faith. Call Carol703-582-1640 with questions.

Chancel Choir, children andyouth of the Great Falls UnitedMethodist Church invite you tojoin them for worship as they of-fer “Welcome to Our World,” amusical for Christmas written byClaire Cloninger and Robert Ster-ling on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 10a.m. The musical includes tradi-tional carols, newer praise songsand original material.

Robert R. “Mitch” Mitchell, Di-rector of Music Ministries at GreatFalls UMC, former U.S. ArmyBandsman, and local area Pianoteacher/freelance Musician will beconducting the choir and narra-tors. Church keyboardist ThomasPandolfi will be accompanying themusical. Great Falls United Meth-odist Church is located at 10100Georgetown Pike, right next to theFire Station in the center of the

Faith Notes

Photo by Abigail Constantino/The Connection

Dr. Jeanette Coutin demonstrates the Venus Legacy ma-chine on Shannon Burwell, of Great Falls, as SerenaBurwell, 4, watches.


Opinion

The holidays are about giving, andgiving thanks. The holidays areabout children and family. The holi-days are about sharing, about joy.

The holidays are about being thankful andabout faith and appreciation. The holi-days are about alleviating suffering forothers.

Northern Virginia is among thewealthiest areas in the country, and many ifnot most of us go through our usual routineswithout encountering evidence of needy fami-lies among us.

But more than 51,000 children who attendFairfax County Public Schools are poor enoughto receive free or subsidized meals, a signifi-cant measure of poverty. That’s 28 percent ofstudents in Fairfax County Public Schools.

In Arlington more than 31 percentof the students are poor enough to re-ceive free or subsidized meals; that’s7,749 students at last count.

In Alexandria, 8,664 students are poorenough to receive free or subsidized meals.That’s 59 percent of the 14,671 students en-rolled.

Give thanks and share locally; tens of thousandsof families around us are in need.

Holidays Are About Giving

❖ Cornerstones, 11150 Sunset Hills Road, Suite 210,Reston, serving Reston and Herndon. 571-323-9555,www.cornerstonesva.org. Nonprofit providingsupport and advocacy for those in need of food,shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, andother human services. Programs and servicesinclude the Embry Rucker Community Shelter,Emergency Food Pantry, Hypothermia PreventionProgram, Thanksgiving Food Drive, Gifts for Kidsand annual Coat Drive. Sign up this week to giveGifts for Kids, Alacia Earley at 571.323.9568 [email protected]. Hunter MillDistrict Winter Coat Closet distributed over 5,500winter coats and jackets last winter, plus over 4,000hats, gloves, mittens and scarves to individuals andfamilies in need of winter gear. Bring coat donationsto the North County Governmental Building, 1801Cameron Glen Drive, Reston, VA 20190 throughFeb. 29, 2016, 24 hours a day.

❖ SHARE of McLean operates a food pantry; providesassistance to families to avoid eviction, keep utilitieson and meet other needs in a crisis; provided giftcards and holiday presents to over 230 needyfamilies, including 650 household members, lastholiday season. Donate online or contact 703-229-1414. [email protected]

These are children who are living in fami-lies who may be on the brink of homelessness,families who must choose between medicalbills, car repair, heat and food. These are chil-dren who may not be sure that they will havea meal between the meals they get in school.School holidays can bring uncertainty and hun-ger, a far cry from the celebrations, gifts andplenty that we associate with Thanksgiving andChristmas.

Hundreds of homeless students attend thepublic schools, and their needs are greater.

There are literally hundreds, probably thou-sands, of ways to give locally this season. Hereare a few ideas. We will rerun this list againduring the holiday, so let us know what wehave missed.

— Mary Kimm,

[email protected]

❖ Alternative House — Abused and HomelessChildren’s Refuge, 2100 Gallows Road, Vienna, 703-506-9191. Now have a new program to help youngpeople who are homeless while still in high schooland who don’t have the support of a parent orguardian. Requests for food and clothing are upmore than 50 percent.www.thealternativehouse.org.

❖ LINK, serving Herndon, Chantilly, Loudoun andmore, needs contributions of food, coats and holidaytoys for children, plus volunteers. More than 4,000adults and children have signed up for help withThanksgiving and Christmas meals. 703-437-1776,www.linkagainsthunger.org.

❖ Herndon-Reston FISH (For ImmediateSympathetic Help), 336 Victory Drive, Herndon,703-391-0105, http://herndonrestonfish.org.

❖ Committee for Helping Others (CHO), Vienna,organized in 1969 by a group of churches andindividuals in the Dunn Loring, Merrifield, Oakton,Vienna community to provide simple, loving charityto those in need. Last year 450 children had aspecial Christmas through the annual ChristmasStore. Collecting gently used jackets and bikes, newtoys, gift cards for teens, and food gift cards. Dropgently used bikes off at the Vienna Presbyterian 10a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28. On Friday, Dec.

11, bring new, unwrapped toys for children ages 1–12, gift cards for teens, and food gift cards.Volunteers needed Saturday, Dec. 12, we to helpclients shop at Vienna Presbyterian Church, call at703-281-7614 and leave a message in box #1.http://www.cho-va.com.

❖ Northern Virginia Family Service. Mail checkor Shoppers Food Warehouse gift card to NorthernVirginia Family Service, ATTN: Operation Turkey,10455 White Granite Drive, Suite 100, Oakton, VA22124. Gifting for Families was able to bring someextra holiday cheer to 2,122 children in NorthernVirginia last year. Monetary contributions andonline donations help the most. www.nvfs.org.Contact Pam Boyle at [email protected] or 571-748-2537.

❖ Touching Heart in Herndon is a nonprofitorganization whose mission is to educate children tohave giving hearts. http://www.touchingheart.com,703-901-7355.

❖ Assistance League of Northern Virginia is anall-volunteer organization that clothes, feeds,educates and nurtures those in need focusing five ofthe neediest elementary schools. Volunteers anddonors are always needed. [email protected] or seewww.northernvirginia.assistanceleague.org.

Where to Give Locally

Misinformationand FearTo the Editor:

Thanks to The Connection forprinting homage to the last heri-tage oak tree in Great Falls. Re-cently, three heritage oaks hadbeen lost to extreme and substan-dard utility pruning, felling tomake room for infrastructure thatwas never installed, and condem-nation after routine pruning tocorrect its lean was neglected.

The Great Falls Citizens Associa-tion hired us to thoroughly inspectthe leaning tree and its twin, con-sult the best science available, andprovide management options. Weclimbed into the canopy, andtomographed the trunks. ApplyingEuropean research specific to thefungus involved, we specified stan-dard pruning. VDOT obtained re-ports that were based on incom-plete inspections, engineering for-mulas, and many assumptions,

recommended removal.VDOT never questioned our

findings, but removed the leaningoak. Our report that a little reduc-tion restores stability was con-firmed by eyewitnesses. When thefirst cuts were made, the treepulled back toward vertical.VDOT’s contractor also cut fourlimbs from the top of the last heri-tage oak. Arborists know that top-ping kills trees. In 2015, VDOThired more consultants whotomographed the upper trunk,drilled into nine buttress roots,made many assumptions, and con-demned the tree.

So say goodbye to the last heri-tage oak in downtown GreatFalls, and know why your land-scape is lacking. The beautifulgreenery that once cooled thecommunity, sustained its history,cleaned the air and water, andgave habitat to wildlife wastaken for granted, and lost. JoniMitchell was right—we don’tknow what we got til it’s gone.

For a study in contrasts, com-pare our 2012 report with VDOT’sreports. Like George Washington,a tree cannot tell a lie: a pictureof the stump today demonstratesthe integrity revealed in our 2012

tomograph. This last oak fell notto science or reason, but misinfor-mation and fear.

Guy MeilleurNew Hill, N.C.

Editorial

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Great Falls

Letters to the Editor

Photo contributed

Joni Mitchell was right—we don’t know what we got tilit’s gone: The stump of the fallen oak.


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WEDNESDAY/NOV. 18Introduction to Special Education.

10 a.m.-noon. Dunn Loring Centerfor Parent Services, 2334 GallowsRoad, Dunn Loring. This workshop isappropriate for parents with childrenin the referral or eligibility phase ofthe Special Education process;parents who want to know moreabout how the Special Educationprocess works; and parents withchildren new to Special Education.Free. Register at http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/prc/.index.shtml.

DEADLINE THURSDAY/NOV. 19Books Needed. Great Falls Library,

9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls.The Friends of the Great Falls Libraryis accepting books in good conditionfor the book sale, being held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 20-21. Books of alltypes, excepting textbooks, are soldto help raise funds for libraryprograms. Especially needed aregently used children’s’ books. Booksshould be dropped off at the librarybefore Nov. 19. Tax deductiblereceipts will be provided at the desk.Questions, contact the library at 703-759-8560.

MONDAY/NOV. 23Ayr Hill Garden Club Meeting.

12:45 p.m. Emmanuel LutheranChurch, 2589 Chain Bridge Road,

Vienna. “Growing Orchids” will bethe subject of guest lecturer, MarkPatterson, a member of the AmericanOrchid Society. In his lecture anddemonstration, Mr. Patterson willspeak on the care, maintenance andrepotting of orchids with specialemphasis on orchids as wonderfulgifts. Guests welcome. https://ayrhillgardenclub.shutterfly.com/.

TUESDAY/DEC. 1Successful Transitions. 8:30-10 a.m.

Brightview, 10200 Colvin Run Road,Great Falls. Join Gerontologist andour Wellspring Village Director,Mikki Firor, for an interactivediscussion on understanding thefundamental aspects of dementia as

well as signs, stages and supports.RSVP early.www.BrightviewGreatFalls.com. 703-759-2513.

All About IEPs - Answers toFrequently Asked QuestionsAbout IEPs. 7-8:30 p.m. DunnLoring Center for Parent Services,2334 Gallows Road, Dunn Loring.FCPS IEP Specialist, Andrew Guillen,from the Office of Special EducationProcedural Support will discussanswers to the most frequently askedquestions about IEPs. Free. Registerat http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/prc/.index.shtml.

Handling the Holidays. 5-7 p.m. Longand Foster, 1355 Beverly Road, Suite300, Cafe 3, McLean. The Women’sCenter of Vienna identify common

holiday stressors. Learn to cope withholiday-related emotions. Understandhow to create expectations for yourholidays that can become a reality.Free. 703-903-8643.

TUESDAY/DEC. 8Rotary Club Meeting. Noon-1:15

p.m. Fellowship Hall of the LutheranChurch of the Redeemer, 1545 ChainBridge Road, McLean. Carrie Hessler-Radelet, director of the Peace Corps,will address the club at its meetingon Tuesday, December 8, 2015.Hessler-Radelet will speak brieflyabout the history of the Peace Corpsand more extensively about the PeaceCorps current activities. Free.www.mcleanrotary.org.

Bulletin Board To have community events listed in the Connection, send to [email protected] deadline for submissions is the Friday prior to publication.

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See Langley, Page 19

By Ken Moore

The Connection

Playwright John Cariani convincedRichie Follin and Peter Ongmanto stare into each other’s eyes for25 seconds. On stage.

“On stage, that’s an eternity,” said Follin.Cariani gave Langley High School’s the-

ater cast hints for their upcoming theaterperformance this week of his play “Almost,Maine.”

“At first we were like, ‘Are you serious?You’ve got to be kidding me,’” said Ongman.

“He had us doing some funny stuff,” saidFollin.

Ongman said he was dared into trying outfor his role.

Jamie Goodson already has performedprofessionally. She acts throughout the year,during the school year and summer. She’slearned that to “give it all you’ve got, to takechances, to take risks.”

“I come alive on stage. It is the most funthing to pretend you’re somebody else,” shesaid. “Theater is my safe place at school. Igo there for my free period. I go there when-ever I just want to chill out.”

Caroline Bugge auditioned for her role,knowing she loved the character she willplay.

“This is my first time trying out for some-thing and it was such a treat to get a role,”she said. “I like to be the center of atten-tion, I’m not going to lie.”

LANGLEY’S PRODUCTION will beperformed this weekend at The LangleySchool while renovations continue at thehigh school.

“It’s done in vignettes, each scene is 10minutes, 15 minutes, and they are strungtogether,” said Bugge. “When you sit backand watch the whole play, you see storylinesare intertwined, even the slang is over-lapped.”

Josh Haydn finds himself on stage, awak-ened by his girlfriend to be in the middle ofa life-changing discussion.

“In my scene, my girlfriend, she wants meto return all the love she gave me, and shereturns all the love I gave her, and there’sall these big bags of love, and I’m just veryconfused,” said Josh Haydn. “But it’s nicebecause for my costume I get to wearsweatpants and socks and sleep. It’s prettygrand.”

Andal Paul plays a wife in her 30s whoattempts to fix a broken marriage. “So shetakes her husband Phil out to go ice skat-ing with her,” said Paul. “But the scene iskind of a revelation to her that the mar-

riage is not going to be mended.”“It’s kind of taking who I am and trying

to find something in my life that translatesto the character. You have to make it be-lievable because that’s how people thatwatch you are going to believe you,” shesaid.

Bugge meets her friend, Sivan Tretiak, onstage after she hits him on the head withan ironing board at a laundromat.

“I play Marvalyn and I see her in so manylittle things that I do. She’s kind of a messand so am I. I’ll be getting into the car andI’ll hit my head and say, ‘Oh that was such aMarvalyn thing of me,’”

On stage, her character has an abusiveboyfriend. She’s surprised by how sweetSivan is. She kisses him.

Bridget Fitzgerald plays Rhonda, a char-acter who likes to drink beer and is asnowmobiler.

“My costume,” said Fitzgerald. “I have a

total of five layers on. I’ve got a jump suit,and then I’ve got a sweater, I’ve got a skisuit, and then I’ve got a sweatshirt, and thenI have a winter jacket.”

“It gets very hot back there. I was backthere for 20 minutes and I felt like I ran amarathon,” she said.

“This was definitely one of the scenes Ithought was very funny, just crack up,” shesaid.

Goodson calls her scene serious, but theserious scenes transition to others that are“hilarious.”

“You’ll laugh your butt off, as well,” shesaid. “You’ll be laughing, you’ll be crying,you’ll be smiling, maybe all at the sametime.”

IT’S HELL WEEK for the actors, actressesand tech crew, meaning they rehearse eachnight until 9 p.m. or later on top of con-tinuing to be students for a full day of

school, family members, athletes, friends.“We’re a community, we’re a family, we

all feed off each other, we all get closer be-cause we’re all going through the samethings. We say it’s a lot of work, but whenit’s done all we all want is to get into an-other show,” said Paul.

They call their teacher, Valerie Karasek,Mrs. K. “She says sometimes the scene willfind itself in a different way than it did thenight before. She’s always looking for us toplay off each other. Sometimes the stakeswill be higher than they were the night be-fore,” said Paul.

“It feels like you went there, yourself, asthe character,” she said. “It feels, you gaineda part of yourself, you lost a part of your-self.”

“IT’S FUNNY. We have some romance ac

Langley High Schoolstudents perform‘Almost, Maine’this weekend atThe Langley School.

‘You’ll Be Laughing, You’ll Be Crying’

Langley High School students Liam Nimick of McLeanand Bridget Fitzgerald of Great Falls perform in“Almost, Maine” this weekend at the Langley School. Valerie Karasek, teacher

It’s “hell week” this week for actors and crew, butLangley students live for the performances they giveto the community.

Jamie Goodson calls her scene serious, but it transi-tions to a hilarious one. “You’ll be laughing your buttoff,” she said.

Holiday Entertainment & Gift Guide


Holly & IvyA CHRISTMAS MARKETPLACE

Saturday, Dec. 5, 10-5Sunday, Dec. 6, 9-3

Our Lady of Good Counsel presents…Our Lady of Good Counsel presents…

Our Lady of Good Counsel Church8601 Wolftrap Rd, Vienna, VA 22182

703.896.7424 • [email protected]

Home Décor & Christmas GiftsFine Stationery, Jewelry, Ornaments

Childrens’ Books & AccessoriesGifts for Baby… and much more!

Used Book Sale!

RugbyTournament inGreat FallsGreat Falls Rugby Club’ssecond annual tournament tosupport spinal cord researchand recovery at the MedStarNational RehabilitationNetwork will take place onSunday, Nov. 22 in Great Falls(behind library, 9830Georgetown Pike). A numberof top D.C., Maryland andVirginia youth, middle schooland high school teams arealready registered. The funbegins at 9 a.m. and will goall day. Food will be available.Come out and enjoy a day ofkids playing rugby for a goodcause.For more information visithttp://www.greatfallsrugby.com/.

News


By Steve Hibbard

The Connection

Great Dogs of Great Falls is gear-ing up for the holidays withChristmas-themed gifts fordogs and cats. The neighbor-

hood store for canine and feline friends at9859 Georgetown Pike, in the Great FallsShopping Center, literally carries every-thing, with a large assortment of holisticfoods, treats, bones, as well as toys, collars,leashes, beds and accessories.

“It gives us great pleasure to help lovingpet parents spoil their dogs and cats duringthe holiday season,” said store owner LindaWaitkus. “They’re very important to us. Ourpets bring great joy to our households allyear long and this is a great time to thankthem with their favorite things such as toysand treats.”

In addition to pet food and treats, the1,800 square foot store also has a groom-ing salon set up in the back to make yourdogs beautiful for the holidays. “People dolove their animals and they’re really impor-tant to them,” said Waitkus.

In addition, they also sell the White HouseChristmas ornaments for the Great FallsFriends and Neighbors, with all proceeds

Store sells largeassortment of holisticfoods, treats, bones,toys, collars, leashes.

Pet Gifts at Great Dogs of Great Falls

Dog blankets, monkey dolls and dog toys range from$15.95 to $125.95. Some assorted holiday dog collarsrange from $19.95 to $32.95.

At Great Dogs of Great Falls, Oliver, a Golden Re-triever, sits on a luxurious bagel bed made out of softfabrics. It comes in sizes of small for $129.95 to extralarge for $199.95. The soft, double-sided reversible,animal print throw with ruffled edges sells for $35.95for extra small to $125.95 for extra large. The HuggleHound Monkey dog toy sells for $15.95 for small and$35.95 for large.

Christmas dog toys come in all shapes, sizesand chewing levels — both hard and soft. Pricesrange from $9.95 to $29.95.

Dog chews and bones, including bully sticks,rawhides and filled bones, range from small at$2.95 to large at $15.95.

Great Dogs of Great Falls offers a large assort-ment of treats for all tastes, whether they likemeats or cookies, from $5.95 to $16.95.

going to charity; it is a fundraiser for theArtemis House. Also, they sell the HolidayHomes Tour Book for the McLean Women’s

Club, with all proceeds going to charity.Great Dogs of Great Falls is located at

9859 Georgetown Pike, in the Great Falls

Shopping Center, in Great Falls. Call 703-759-3601 or visit the website atwww.greatdogsofgreatfalls.com.

Photos by Steve Hibbard/The Connection

Holiday Entertainment, Dining & Gift Guide


Sterling21800 Town Center Plaza

Sterling, VA 20164703-450-5453

Leesburg1051 Edwards Ferry Road

Leesburg, VA 20176703-771-4688

www.sterlingappliance.com

The Great Falls Holiday Fest, to beheld Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday,Dec. 6, will offer shopping, art,

food, lights and Saint Nicholas, too!Both days, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Twenty-three

Great Falls Studios member artists at theGrange and Old Schoolhouse, 9818Georgetown Pike, will display something forSecret Santas and serious collectors. Origi-nal art, prints, photography, fabric arts,pottery, sculpture, wood carvings, holidaygifts, note cards and more.

Both days, noon – 4 p.m.. Santa will beat the Old Schoolhouse posing for pictureswith girls and boys and local authors willbe storytelling there, too. Gather for livemusic and dance, festive food and drink atthe Grange, make an ornament at the Arts

of Great Falls School, delight in art demon-strations at the Artists’ Atelier and Artistson the Green.

Wraps up Sunday, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. withthe 25th Annual Celebration of Lights. Hotcider and cocoa to sip by the blazing Yulelog and community choral groups singingseasonal music. A petting zoo, pony ridesand a live nativity scene. Santa and Mrs.Claus are scheduled to arrive by antique firetruck to begin the cheer when the ownChristmas tree is lit!

Family friendly and free.Brought to you by Great Falls Studios, the

Fairfax County Park Authority, CelebrateGreat Falls and the Arts of Great Falls.

For more information visitwww.GreatFallsStudios.com.

Great Falls to Host Holiday Fest


See Calendar, Page 17

ONGOING

SATURDAY/NOV. 14Nutcracker Storytime. 10:30-

11:30 a.m. Barnes and NobleTysons Corner, 7851 TysonsCorner Center, McLean. Costumeddancers from BalletNova Centerfor Dance read the Nutcracker tochildren followed by a mini-performance, crafts, and thechance to meet the dancers. Free.

FRIDAY/NOV. 20Tysons Corner Center Tree

Lighting. 6 p.m. Tysons CornerCenter, 1961 Chain Bridge Road,McLean. Tysons Corner Centerwill host their tree lightingceremony on The Plaza emceedby Alison Victoria of HGTV’sKitchen Crashers featuring Looand Chilli from 97.1 WASH-FMand an intimate holiday concertby American Idol’s, Elliot Yaminfrom 6:30-7:30 p.m. Stay till theend of the show as special guest,Santa Claus himself, will make anappearance after the concert witha very special entrance featuringsome of his favorite reindeer.

SATURDAY/NOV. 2136th Annual Christmas Bazaar.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. St. John’s AcademyGym, 6422 Linway Terrace,McLean. Over 30 vendors, Livemusic all day including McLeanHigh School orchestra and Bachto Rock, Bratwursts, beer, bakesale, and Lobster Maine-ia. [email protected].

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/NOV. 21-22The Enchanted Forest. Check

website for activity times. TheWestin Tysons Corner, 7801Leesburg Pike, Falls Church.Fundraiser presented by theJunior League of NorthernVirginia. Decorated holiday treesfor silent auction throughout theweekend, live entertainment, amodel train display, hands-onactivities for children, a festivalholiday marketplace and AnEnchanted Affair evening gala.Visit www.jlnv.org/the-enchanted-forest for tickets andinformation.

SUNDAY/NOV. 29Breakfast with Santa. 9 a.m., 10

a.m., noon. Wildfire, TysonsGalleria, 2001 InternationalDrive, McLean. Chilli, morningshow co-host on 97.1 WASH-FMat iHeartMedia, will be Wildfire’sspecial guest host for the event. Inaddition, children will get to visitwith Santa and receive a specialgift bag. $15 for children under12, $20 for adults. Reserve at703-442-9110.

THURSDAY/DEC. 3Holiday Homes Tour. 10 a.m. - 3

p.m. Lewinsville Road, McLean.The four homes are all large,elegant houses on half- to one-acre lots and are easily accessiblefrom Lewinsville Road and otherlocal arteries. Each house will bedecorated with the holidays inmind and will highlight family lifein McLean. www.mcleanwc.org.

Face Painting. 5:30-9 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. Childrenwill enjoy festive snowflakes,snowmen and other holiday facepainting images. Free. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/DEC. 4-5Annual Renaissance Feaste. 7 p.m.

Capital Church, 10233 Leesburg Pike,Vienna. Journey back to Merrie OldeEngland for a festive evening ofRenaissance-style dining and musicalentertainment. Enter the GreateHalle for a spectacular holidaycelebration featuring costumedservers, jesters, minstrels, musiciansand the Langley Madrigals.Reservations required. Go to http://www.langleychorus.com/monthly-calendar/ to find out how to reserveyour spot.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/DEC. 5-6Great Falls HolidayFest. 10 a.m.-5

p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.Great Falls Grange and the OldSchoolhouse, 9818 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Shopping, art, food,lights, crafts. Noon-4 p.m. Santa willbe at the Old Schoolhouse forpictures. On Sunday, 4:30-6:30 p.m.will be the Celebration of Lights,which will have hot cider and cocoa,Yule log, choral groups, petting zoo,pony rides, live nativity scene and thearrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus byantique fire truck. Town Christmastree will be lit. Free.www.GreatFallsStudios.com.

SATURDAY/DEC. 12Traditional Holiday Tale, “A

Christmas Carol.” 1 and 4 p.m.The Alden Theatre, 1234 InglesideAve., McLean. Perhaps the best lovedholiday story of all time, Theatre IV’sadaptation of Charles Dickens’ classicis particularly suited to children. $10,$15. http://mcleancenter.org/alden-theatre. 703-790-0123.

SUNDAY/DEC. 13”Welcome to Our World.” 10 a.m.

Great Falls Methodist Church, 10100Georgetown Pike, Great Falls. Amusical for Christmas written by

Claire Cloninger and RobertSterling. The musical includestraditional carols, newer praisesongs and, of course, originalmaterial. There’s something foreveryone in the family.www.greatfallsumc.org. 703-759-3705.

Christmas Festival. 6-7:30 p.m.Lewinsville Presbyterian Church,1724 Chain Bridge Road, McLean.The church choirs will be joinedby a string ensemble as theyprepare for Christmas with aprogram entitled “Dance andSing! Christ is Born!” The musicincludes those carols written withthe rhythms of dance of manystyles as well as songs aboutdance, including the finalmovement of the BachBrandenburg Concerto No. 5. Theprogram will be followed bydessert in St. Andrews Hall. Free.www.lewinsville.org.

SATURDAY/DEC. 19John Eaton “Holiday

Spectacular.” 2 p.m. TheAlden, McLean CommunityCenter, 1234 Ingleside Ave.,McLean. Musicologist, humoristand jazz pianist will share thehistory and harmonies of somefavorite seasonal songs from theAmerican Songbook at a special“Holiday Spectacular.”www.aldentheatre.org. 703-790-0123.

SUNDAY/DEC. 20McLean Symphony Concert. 3-

4:45 p.m. Alden Theatre, 1234Ingleside Ave., McLean. MyFavorite Things: HolidayCelebration. Featuring TanyaAnisimova, Cello. Celebrate theseason with holiday favorites, andsing along with carols, children’ssongs, and a Hanukah medley.$Free, $15, $20, $25.www.mclean-symphony.org. 703-991-7197.

Holiday Calendar

”A Christmas Carol” with a kid-friendly twist comes toThe Alden in McLean for a two-show performance onSaturday, Dec. 12. Photo contributed.

ONGOINGWeekly Storytime. Wednesday and

Saturday. 11 a.m. Barnes & Noble,7851 L Tysons Corner Center,McLean. Themes and Titles vary.Free admission.

”Harvey.” Check for show times. Nov.12-Dec. 20. 1st Stage, 1524 SpringHill Road, Tysons Corner. Winner ofthe Pulitzer Prize for Drama, thisbeloved classic is a treat for thewhole family. Veta Simmons and herdaughter Myrtle Mae have justmoved back into town and aremaking quite a splash on the socialscene. Gatherings and engagementsabound as Myrtle Mae peruses for aviable suitor. $15-$30.www.1ststagetysons.org. 703-854-1856.

Meadowlark Gardens’ WinterWalk of Lights. Nov. 14-Jan. 4. Ahalf-a-million colorful LED lightsspan the lakeside and gardens ofMeadowlark Botanical Gardens offBeulah Road in nostalgic andfairytale scenes of the holiday season.http://winterwalkoflights.com/.

53rd Annual James A. BlandContest. Through Monday, Feb. 15.Vienna Lions Club invites elementaryand high school vocalist andinstrumentalists to present a song orpiece for cash prizes. For informationand application, contact Susan Stilesat [email protected] or 703-938-1142.

THURSDAY/NOV. 19Vietnam Veterans of America Inc.

Chapter 227 Meeting. 7:30 p.m.Neighbor’s Restaurant, 262D CedarLane, Vienna. Col. Ben Buckley, USA(Ret.), chapter member, will discuss“General Grant’s Overland Campaignin Virginia.”

Funny Photo Night. 5:30-9 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. You provideyour camera and smiles, and we willprovide the props and staff to takeyour photo. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

FRIDAY/NOV. 20McLean Art Society Meeting. 10

a.m.-noon. McLean CommunityCenter, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean.Sue Moses, a watercolorist whosework is defined by strong values,light and shadow and emphasis oncomposition, will be the featuredartist. She will be doing a paintingdemonstration. Guests are welcome.703-790-0123.

Nature Night. 5:30-9:30 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. Visit with thenaturalist and his reptile andamphibian friends. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

Tysons Corner Center TreeLighting. 6 p.m. Tysons CornerCenter, 1961 Chain Bridge Road,McLean. Tysons Corner Center willhost their tree lighting ceremony onThe Plaza emceed by Alison Victoriaof HGTV’s Kitchen Crashers featuringLoo and Chilli from 97.1 WASH-FMand an intimate holiday concert byAmerican Idol’s, Elliot Yamin from6:30-7:30 p.m. Stay till the end ofthe show as special guest, SantaClaus himself, will make anappearance after the concert with avery special entrance featuring someof his favorite reindeer.

SATURDAY/NOV. 21Filene Center Backstage Tour. 2

p.m. Wolf Trap National Park for thePerforming Arts, 1551 Trap Road,Vienna. Stand on a world-class stage,learn how a theater runs, and get asneak peek at where the stars getready. Tours are limited to 30participants. 703-255-1827 to RSVPor for additional information.

Sonny Landreth. 7:30 p.m. The Barns,Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna.Louisiana-based Sonny Landreth hascollaborated with a multitude of rocklegends, including Jimmy Buffett andEric Clapton. Landreth has been aregular performer at Clapton’sCrossroads Guitar Festival since itsinception in 2004 and released hisfirst all-instrumental album,Elemental Journey, in 2012. Tickets:$27. For more information, visithttp://www.wolftrap.org/ or call703-255-1900.

36th Annual Christmas Bazaar. 9a.m.-3 p.m. St. John’s Academy Gym,6422 Linway Terrace, McLean. Over30 vendors, Live music all dayincluding McLean High Schoolorchestra and Bach to Rock,Bratwursts, beer, bake sale, andLobster Maine-ia. Free [email protected]

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/NOV. 21-22The Enchanted Forest. Check

website for activity times. The WestinTysons Corner, 7801 Leesburg Pike,Falls Church. Fundraiser presentedby the Junior League of NorthernVirginia. Decorated holiday trees for

Send announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is Fridayfor the following week’s paper. Photos/artwork encouraged.

Calendar

From left, Tonya Beckman, and Kelsey Meiklejohn in“Harvey” at 1st Stage.The show runs through December20, 2015 in Tysons Corner. Photo by Teresa Castracane.


FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VIENNA

450 ORCHARD STREET, NWVIENNA, VA 22180

[email protected]

www.fbcv.org

SUNDAY WORSHIP, 7:45 AM & 11:00 AMCHURCH SCHOOL 9:30AM-10:30AMMIDWEEK SERVICES, WED. 7:00 PM

Visit These Houses of Worship

To Highlight Your Faith Community,call Karen at 703-917-6468

7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Sunday School: preschool - grade 2Music: grades 3 - 7

10:25 a.m. Sunday School Grades 3 to 6Music 4 years to 2nd grade

11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service

Nursery care provided at 9:00 a.m. service

The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Laura Cochran

703-437-6530www.stannes-reston.org

1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston

ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston

Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive

From Page 16

Calendar

silent auction throughout the weekend,live entertainment, a model traindisplay, hands-on activities forchildren, a festival holidaymarketplace and An Enchanted Affairevening gala. Visit www.jlnv.org/the-enchanted-forest for tickets andinformation.

SUNDAY/NOV. 22Japanese American Care Fund

Annual Bazaar. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Patriot Hall, Vienna American LegionPost 180, 330 North Center St.,Vienna. Japanese books includingmanga, locally grown Japanesevegetables, and various donateditems will be sold. AuthenticJapanese foods will be sold as take-away packages and served at thefood court. The Embassy of Japanwill be on site to accept overseasvoter registration from 10:00 a.m. tonoon. Medical consultation desk byDr. Tsunewoka. $2 admission. Freeto children under 12.www.jacarefund.org. 703-256-5223.

Amadeus Orchestra with theSilver-Garburg Piano Duo. 4p.m. St. Luke Catholic Church, 7001Georgetown Pike, McLean. SilverGarburg Piano Duo will play Vivaldi,Bach and Mendelssohn. $30. Free to17 and under. http://[email protected].

TUESDAY/NOV. 24Holiday Crafts for Children. 5:30-9

p.m. Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. Visit the crafttable and make a free craft todecorate for the holidays. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

THURSDAY/NOV. 26Wildfire Thanksgiving. 10:30 a.m.-

8:30 p.m. Wildfire, Third floor,Tysons Galleria, 2001 InternationalDrive, McLean. A special family stylemenu featuring spit roasted turkeyand all the traditional Thanksgivingdishes. $45.95 per person, $19.95 forchildren 12 and under. Portion of theday’s proceeds will be donated toFood for Others. 703-442-9110.www.wildfirerestaurant.com/mclean.

FRIDAY/NOV. 27John Eaton. 8 p.m. The Barns, Wolf

Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Joinrenowned pianist and vocalist, JohnEaton, as he interprets the GreatAmerican Songbook. Eaton is one ofthe flagship artists of the Wolf TrapRecording label and he has releasedeight albums to date that include themusic of Richard Rodgers, RayCharles, the Beatles, and Cole Porter.Tickets: $25-$27. For moreinformation, visit http://www.wolftrap.org/ or call 703-255-1900.

SATURDAY/NOV. 28Dream Discs: the Wild, the

Innocent & the E StreetShuffle/Moondance. 7:30 p.m.The Barns, Wolf Trap, 1645 TrapRoad, Vienna. Experience a thrillingtribute to two of rock ’n’ roll’s best-loved albums, made famous by VanMorrison and Bruce Springsteen, asthey’re performed in their entirety bysome of the finest musicians andvocalists in the D.C. area. Tickets:$25-$27. For more information,http://www.wolftrap.org/ or call703-255-1900.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/NOV. 27-29.33rd Annual Thanksgiving Art and

Craft Show. Friday-Saturday, 10a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.Spring Hill RECenter, 1239 Spring

Hill Road, McLean. Featuringoriginal, handmade craft and artworkof approximately 80 local artists andartisans. $5. www.nvhg.org.

SUNDAY/NOV. 29Breakfast with Santa. 9 a.m., 10

a.m., noon. Wildfire, Tysons Galleria,2001 International Drive, McLean.Chilli, morning show co-host on 97.1WASH-FM at iHeartMedia, will beWildfire’s special guest host for theevent. In addition, children will getto visit with Santa and receive aspecial gift bag. $15 for childrenunder 12, $20 for adults. Reserve at703-442-9110.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 2Eric Hutchinson. 8 p.m. The Barnes,

Wolf Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna.Singer/songwriter Eric Hutchinsontakes the stage with radio favorites,including “Rock & Roll” and“Watching You Watch Him” andmore and performs his foot-tappingbrand of pop and rock. Tickets: $22advance; $25 day of. For moreinformation, visit http://www.wolftrap.org/tickets/calendar/performance/1516barns/1202show15.aspx or call 703-255-1900.

Nature Night. 5:30-9:30 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 Meadowlark

Gardens Court, Vienna. Visit with thenaturalist and his reptile andamphibian friends. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

THURSDAY/DEC. 3Holiday Homes Tour. 10 a.m. - 3

p.m. Lewinsville Road, McLean. Thefour homes are all large, eleganthouses on half- to one-acre lots andare easily accessible from LewinsvilleRoad and other local arteries. Eachhouse will be decorated with theholidays in mind and will highlightfamily life in McLean.www.mcleanwc.org.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY/DEC. 3-5”She Kills Monsters.” 7:30 p.m.

McLean High School, 1633 DavidsonRoad, McLean. TheatreMcLean, therecently renamed award-winningtheatre department at McLean HighSchool, launches its new season byentering into the fantasy role playingrealm of Qui Nguyen’s “She KillsMonsters.” This show marks the firstproduction directed by new theatrefaculty members Chip Rome andPhillip Reid. $12-$15. Matureaudiences. visit https://sites.google.com/site/theatre

mclean/.

Musicologist, humorist and jazz pianist John Eaton willshare the history and harmonies of some favorite sea-sonal songs from the American Songbook at a special“Holiday Spectacular” on Saturday, Dec. 19 at The Alden.

Photo contributed

Jane Getter Premonition performs at Jammin’ Java, 227Maple Ave. E., Vienna, on Monday, Dec. 14. She will bejoined by Adam Holzman on keyboards (Miles Davis), StuHamm on bass (Steve Vai/Joe Satriani) John Mader ondrums (Pat Benatar, Steve Miller) and guitarist AlexSkolnick (Ozzy Osbourne).

Advertising Deadlines are the previous Thursday unless noted.

NOVEMBER11/25/2015....Celebrating Gratitude, Thanksgiving

DECEMBER12/2/2015....................................................Wellbeing12/9/2015..Holiday Entertainment & Gift Guide II12/9/2015..HomeLifeStyle; Home for the Holidays12/16/2015..............A+ Camps & Schools; Holiday

Entertainment & Gifts Pages12/23/2015.....Special Issue – Safe for the Holidays12/30/2015............................Children’s ConnectionJANUARY1/6/2016...............Wellbeing, Renewal, Resolutions1/13/2016...........................................HomeLifeStyleMartin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan. 181/20/2016................................A+ Camps & SchoolsE-mail [email protected] for more information.

Reaching Suburban Washington’s Leading Households• Alexandria Gazette Packet• Arlington Connection• Burke Connection• Centre View• Chantilly Connection

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From Page 8

Faith

village. All are welcome.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church,2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna, isholding Sunday evening worship ser-vice in a less formal atmosphere andmore intimate setting to help you getready for the week ahead. Sundays, 6p.m. Communion offered. Nochildcare. 703-938-2119 orwww.elcvienna.org.

St. Francis Episcopal Church,9220 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls,offers musical, educational, outreachand fellowship ministries in additionto worship services, including a 7:45a.m. worship service without music;9 a.m. worship service, children’schapel and children’s choirs; 10 a.m.Sunday school and adult forum; and11 a.m. worship service with adultchoir. 703-759-2082.

The Antioch Christian Churchoffers a time of Prayer and Healing onWednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. foranyone wanting encouragement andhealing through prayers. People areavailable to pray with you or for you.Antioch Christian Church is located at1860 Beulah Road in Vienna.www.antiochdoc.org

The Jewish Social ServicesAgency (JSSA) offers a wide variety ofsupport groups for those with emo-tional, social, and physical challenges.www.jssa.org/growth-learning.

HAVEN of Northern Virginia of-fers a variety of free bereavementsupport groups, meeting on a weekly ba-sis. 703-941-7000 orwww.havenofnova.org.

McLean Bible Church FitnessClass at Body & Soul Fitness. Gain bal-ance, energy and strength at 9:45 a.m.

Mondays and Fridays. Free childcare forregistered [email protected].

St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church,1830 Kirby Road in McLean, holds athird Sunday service every month at10:15 a.m. which allows children to playactive roles in the music and as greetersand ushers. Traditional services are ev-ery Sunday at 8:15 and 10:15 a.m.

Vienna Christian HealingRooms are open, every Saturday, 1-5p.m., at 8200 Bell Lane. A team of Chris-tians is available to anyone requestingprayer. Free and open to the public.703-698-9779 orwww.viennachristianhealingrooms.com.

Chesterbrook United MethodistChurch is at 1711 Kirby Road, McLean.Worship service is at 11 a.m. Sundayschool is at 9:30 a.m. for adults and chil-dren. 703-356-7100 or

www.ChesterbrookUMC.org.

Centering Prayer Group meetsFridays, 9:30 a.m. at Andrew ChapelUnited Methodist Church, 1301 TrapRoad, Vienna. The hour includes a briefreading related to Centering Prayer, fol-lowed by a 20-minute prayer period.E-mail Martha Thomas [email protected] or call thechurch at 703-759-3509.

The Jewish Federation ofGreater Washington and the Jew-ish Outreach Institute offer theMothers/Parents Circle, an umbrella offree educational events and resources.Jewish rituals, ethics and the creation ofa Jewish home, regular meetings andgroup Shabbats and holidays. Partici-pants include Sha’are Shalom,Congregation Beth Emeth, TempleRodef Shalom and the Jewish Commu-nity Center of Northern Virginia.ShalomDC.org.

Unitarian Universalist Con-gregation of Fairfax , 2709Hunter Mill Road, Oakton, offers theReligious Exploration (RE) programfor all children, from pre-K toddlersthrough high school seniors, empha-sizing exploration of all religioustraditions while developing a per-sonal spiritual path. The RE programoffers classes on Saturday afternoonsand Sunday mornings. 703-281-4230.

Trinity United MethodistChurch , 1205 Dolley MadisonBlvd., McLean. Sunday worship ser-vices are at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.Sunday School for adults is at 9:30a.m. and for children during the10:30 a.m. worship service. YouthGroup for grades 7-12 meets Sun-days at 6 p.m. A 20-minute service ofHoly Communion is held eachWednesday at noon. 703-356-3312or umtrinity.org.

Faith Notes

On Wednesday evening, Nov. 4,The Great Falls Historical So-ciety program provided a pan-oramic view of the founding

and early beginnings of historic churchesthroughout an area currently known asGreat Falls. The march of people of faithtoward Great Falls began well before thecivil war in some faiths, but seemed to mani-fest its greatest expressions in the area inthe decade just prior to the civil war (1861-1865), or just at the turn of the century thatfollowed. The story of each local churchshares the longing for a place of worshipand the importance of building a specificplace for the life of the community of faithto take root and grow. Here are some of thehighlights:

❖ Andrew Chapel, 1854 – CarolBlackwell

A chapel is a church that bears a familyname. Andrew Chapel, founded in 1854,was occupied by Yankees and damagedduring the civil war. It was rebuilt in 1869by its 51 members, which grew to 80 mem-bers by 1871 – including the Follin family,the Money family, and the Gunnell family,among others - and was later renovated in1907. The church was served by a circuit ofministers and did not have a full-time min-ister until 1957.

❖ Brown’s Chapel, 1850 – VirginiaRita

At 76 years old, Reverend Jesse Brownand his wife Abigail came to the LeesburgPike area with their 44-year old son,Augustus and 2 other ministers and pur-chased a 317-acre farm that spanned bothsides of the Leesburg Pike, now known asColvin Run Road, for $12 per acre. BothJesse and Augustus had preaching licenses.The first worship service in Brown’s Chapeltook place in 1879. They worshipped in theLiberty Church prior to that. Brown’s Chapelwas moved to the entrance of Reston onMay 3, 1968 to save the chapel, after 90years of fine religious use.

❖ Dranesville Church of the Breth-ren, 1905 - Joyce Trickett

The worshippers who would later estab-lish this church on Georgetown Pike origi-nally came from Germany in 1708, viaLancaster, Pa. in 1719, then Prince WilliamCounty in 1904. The Church of the Breth-ren site was established in 1905. Prior tobuilding the church, they prayed at homein fellowship, then met at the Liberty Meet-ing House, where they met one Sunday permonth. They built their own church in oneyear on the site of the Battle of Dranesville,where union forces fought on Dec. 20, 1861– at one of the opening skirmishes of thecivil war. They conducted their first serviceon Oct. 27, 1912. Each year on Dec. 20 theyconduct a peace service, recalling the menwho lost their lives in the Civil War battleat that location.

❖ Dranesville Methodist Church1852 – Pat Camp

The first chapel of the Dranesville Meth-odist Church, a small log cabin, was builtat Sugarland Run in 1786. In 1790, thechapel was relocated to land granted toJames and Eliza Coleman. Referred to asthe Liberty Meeting House, the chapel wasdeeded for public use, free for all denomi-nations and for the education of youth. Thefirst class was held in 1852. In 1861, 161men were killed during the civil war andthe church was used as a hospital.

❖ Salem Baptist Church, 1903 –Roland Smith, Pastor

After the Civil War, Lettie Ford Elliswalked from Louisiana to Dranesville to herhome near Seneca Road. In 1903, she dedi-cated a one-acre portion of the property

given to her to build a church. Recentlycollapsed, there are plans to rebuild thechurch with the intention of sharing the newconstruction with the entire neighborhood,across all denominations.

❖ Smith Chapel, 1890 – BeanieBeach Lambert

Jesse Smith came from Mainstone, En-gland, via New York and was a carpenterby trade. Starting in 1985, Jesse Smith at-tended the Liberty Meeting Hall. In 1861,Abraham Lincoln was elected President andone month later the Civil War began. Therewas a skirmish that took over theDranesville Church, took crops and chick-ens. After the war the Smith Chapel wasbuilt. Beanie Lambert’s great-grandmothersworshiped at the church.

❖ Salem Church, 1877 – CarolynMiller

In 1854, Charles Whittier of the Method-ist Protestant Conference conducted prayermeetings in homes. In 1876, they madeplans for a permanent house of worship andin 1877 they dedicated the new church. TheFollins, Hendersons, Cornwells, Sanders,Winstons and others worshipped at thischurch. Ann Stark Cornwell wrote aboutChristmas at Salem Church in her book,“Grandpa’s Shadow.”

❖ Arnon Chapel, 1893 – CarolynMiller

Annie Johnson built Arnon Chapel. Theycut trees from the property, and built thechapel. The bark of the oak trees can stillbe seen in the basement of the building. Itwas opened as Forestville, but in 1893, thename was changed to Arnon. Carolyn’sgrandmother had a Sunday School class.When Carolyn’s grandfather heard that thename was Arnon, he left the new churchand returned to Salem.

—Carolyn Miller and Robert

Lundegard,

Program Coordinators

Great Falls Churches –1850s through the 1940sLegacy of Faith

Photo courtesy of Great Falls Historical Society


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From Page 12

News

tion, fun for the whole family. It should be interest-ing to watch,” said Haydn.

“The characters are very real,” said Follin. “JohnCariani told us that the characters are based offpeople he knew. Even so you say, I’ve been in a situ-

ation like that, maybe not as extreme as some ofthem, but there is something in every scene whereyou can totally relate to that character.”

“You can go see a movie or you can come see yourfriends be the stars,” said Bugge.

“Come see the show,” said Follin.

Langley High Presents ‘Almost, -Maine’

Quinn Partee andBen Goodson takedown the set afterrehearsal Sunday atthe Langley School.

Send school notes to [email protected] by Friday.

Fishburne Military School inWaynesboro, Va. announced CadetSecond Lieutenant Chase Dixonfrom Vienna as Officer of the Monthfor October. Dixon is a senior and theson of Mr. Michael Filan and Mrs.Elizabeth McElroy-Filan. CadetDixon is the Executive Officer of Al-pha Company and is a member of theKey Club.

Masato Chang, of Vienna, aneighth-grader at Longfellow MiddleSchool was awarded first prize at theMusic Teachers National Association(MTNA) for the State of Virginia. Hewill travel to Florida in January 2016to represent the State of Virginia forthe next round.

George Mahaney-Walter, sonof Mary Claire Mahaney and HerbertWalter of McLean, was awarded thedegree of Master of Business Admin-istration in recent commencementexercises at the Simon School of

Business of the University of Rochester.

Northern Virginia CommunityCollege is preparing to welcome 17incoming Honors Program Scholars forthe start of the 2015-2016 academicyear, which begins Aug. 24. The schol-arship provides $10,000 to be dividedinto fall and spring semesters for twoyears, at $2,500 per semester. It will as-sist students with the cost of tuitiontoward a NOVA degree. NataliaChavez Choque and BenjaminAtherton, of McLean High School,received this scholarship.

Victor Zheng, 21, of McLean, isamong five University of Virginia schol-ars who have received Critical LanguageScholarships to assist them in pursuingtheir love of language. They will spendseven to 10 weeks in intensive languageinstitutes this summer in one of 13countries to study languages the U.S.government has deemed “critical.”Zheng will study Chinese in Dalian,China. He is a third-year history andChinese major who is learning Manda-rin Chinese.

“I applied out of a desire to haveanother opportunity to go back toChina and be immersed in its envi-ronment,” he said. “I also justinherently love being abroad whereI believe I learn the best and themost.” Zheng, who is a member ofU.Va.’s Virginia Glee Club, plans topursue a master’s degree in interna-tional relations.

Graham P. Lobel, the son ofDoug and Betsy Lobel of McLean,received a Bachelor of Science de-gree cum laude, from HaverfordCollege, in Haverford, Pa., at theschool’s 177th Commencement onSunday, May 17. Lobel graduatedwith High Honors in Chemistry. AtCommencement, Lobel also receivedThe George Peirce Prize in Chemis-try, for excellence in undergraduateresearch. Lobel graduated from theThomas Jefferson High School forScience and Technology in 2011.

Gabrielle Greco, of Vienna,daughter of Drs. Stephen and JudithGreco, was named to the Dean’s Listat the College of William and Maryfor the Spring Semester.

School Notes

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Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

Saxons sophomore setter ElenaShklyar stood in the Langley HighSchool gymnasium following anAugust practice and shared the

team’s lofty goals for the 2015 season,which included the desire to win multipletitles.

Langley’s first shot at a title arrived Nov.5, but the Saxons fell flat and were sweptby Madison in the Conference 6 champion-ship match.

Nine days later, having already secured astate berth by beating Battlefield in the re-gion semifinals, the Saxons had a secondopportunity to win a championship and achance for revenge against the Warhawks.

This time, Langley would leave with thefirst-place hardware.

The Saxons held off a late Warhawks rallyin the fourth set to win 3-1 (25-17, 21-25,25-23, 25-22) in the 6A North region cham-pionship match on Nov. 14 at Madison HighSchool.

A kill by senior middle blocker KatieSissler gave Langley match point at 24-18. Madison responded with four con-secutive points to make things interest-ing before Saxons sophomore middleblocker Allison Franke provided thematch-winning kill.

“We’ve been trying to do this all year andthis has been our goal,” Shklyar said. “Ob-viously, states is our next goal.”

How did the Saxons go from gettingswept by Madison in the conference finalto beating the Warhawks in four sets onSaturday?

“We had the right game plan in the con-ference (tournament), but we couldn’t passand … they just weren’t in it,” Langley headcoach Susan Shifflett said. “(We had) prettymuch the same game plan tonight, but theywere ready. You beat Oakton (in the regionquarterfinals), you beat Battlefield (in thesemifinals); they’ve been on a tear latelyand they were ready.”

OFFENSIVELY, Langley had a balancedattack, with four players producing at leasteight kills. Sissler led the Saxons with 12kills, and Shklyar, Franke and senior out-side hitter Jess Donaldson each had eight.

Defensively, Langley’s tall front row madelife difficult for Madison hitters.

“They really improved on their blockingin just a week-and-a-half time and that’s all

them,” Shifflett said. “… I didn’t do any-thing different.”

Franke finished with two solo blocks andfive block assists. Senior outside hitterKristian Stanford had two solo blocks,Shklyar had one solo block and five blockassists, Sissler had one solo block and twoblock assists, and junior right side RayaMufti had five block assists.

“When we get the block, it not only af-fects the front row, it affects the back row,”Franke said. “For us, a lot of times the blockwill get us more excited than the hit justbecause we stopped them.”

Donaldson was named MVP of the regiontournament. Franke and Sissler were namedto the all-tournament team.

Saturday’s region championship wasLangley’s second in three years. After los-

ing to Yorktown in the 2013 conferencesemifinals, the Saxons bounced back to wina region title and state championship.

LANGLEY hosted 6A South region runner-up First Colonial in the state semifinals onTuesday, after The Connection’s deadline.The 6A state championship match is sched-uled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, at VCU’sSiegel Center in Richmond.

“I love to win, so it’s always good,”Shifflett said after winning the region title.“… I want states, so I’m excited, but I’mdone now. It’s time for states.”

Saxons avenge conference tournament loss to Madison.

Photo by Natalie Luu

The following McLean High School student-athletes signed aNational Letter of Intent this week to play a sport on scholarshipin college (from left): Bella Norton, Indiana University (softball);Jon Clines, Virginia Military Institute (baseball); DelaneyGallagher, San Diego State University (diving); and KarynneBaker, Ohio University (field hockey).

Photo by Mipad

The following McLean High School student-athletes also signed a NationalLetter of Intent this week to play a sport on scholarship in college (fromleft): Isabell Wyerman, Boston College (crew); Kaela Wilbur, ClemsonUniversity (crew); Autumn Brenner, College of William and Mary (volley-ball); and Conor Grammes, Xavier University (baseball).

Langley Volleyball Wins 6A North Region Championship

McLean High Athletes to Play at Colleges

Langley sophomore Elena Shklyarfinished with eight kills againstMadison during the 6A Northregion championship match.

The Langley volleyball team won the 6A North region championship onNov. 14 with a four-set victory over Madison.


girls. Each woman has served as a volun-teer coach for 10 or more seasons with Girlson the Run — an after-school that equipsgirls with lifelong skills that will help themdevelop into strong, healthy, confidentyoung women. The 10-week season culmi-nates in a celebratory 5k run with more than5,000 girls, parents, teachers and commu-nity members completing a 3.1mile run.

Peters said that “Seeing girls conquer theirpersonal anxieties/fears (often associatedwith speaking up in the group or doing the5K) and seeing their confidence grow,” in-spired her. And the Girls on the Run pro-gram gives girls the “confidence to go outand do good things that may be outsidetheir current comfort zone.”

For more information about Girls on theRun visit http://gotrnova.org/.

Photo contributed

Doreen Peters, of Great Falls, willreceive the Crystal Coach Awardfrom Girls on the Run.

Doreen Peters will receive theCrystal Coach Award on Satur-day, Nov. 21 in a pre-race cer-emony that kicks off the Girls

on the Run 5K, presented by InnovationHealth in Woodbridge.

Peters is one of the organization’s longest-serving volunteers, having mentored morethan 300 girls over 20 seasons as a Girls onthe Run coach — first at Floris ElementarySchool in Herndon, and this season at LutieLewis Coates Elementary in Herndon.

Other Crystal Coach award recipients in-clude: Aliceson Johnson Wirth of Kent Gar-dens ES in McLean, Carla Maughlin ofLemon Road ES in Falls Church, CarlaProkop of Rolling Valley ES in West Spring-field, Rena Rose of Centre Ridge ES inCentreville, Gwendolynn Gall of Navy ESin Fairfax, and Cori Lonnett of Westbriar ESin Vienna. Together, the women havecoached a combined 94 seasons and havementored more than 1,400 girls.

Crystal Coaches are a group of thirteenNorthern Virginia women who are commit-ted to making a difference in the lives of

One strong womanbuilds many strong girls.

Area Coaches to be Honoredfor Work Empowering Girls

Sports

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ABC LICENSECaboose Brewing Company, LLC trading as Caboose Brew-ing Company, 520 Mill St. NE Vienna, VA 22180. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) FOR A Mixed Beverages on premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Matthew Greer, memberNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be

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A&S Landscaping

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R.N. CONTRACTORS, INC.Remodeling Homes, Flooring,Kitchen & Bath, Windows,Siding, Roofing, Additions &Patios, Custom Deck, Painting

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Handyman Services Available

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JUAN’S LANDSCAPING Since 1987

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• CELL 703-732-7175

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LANDSCAPING LANDSCAPING

J.E.S. ServicesYour neighborhood company since 1987

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Custom Masonry703-768-3900

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MASONRY MASONRY

ALBA CONSTRUCTION INC.

703-204-0733

CONCRETE WORKLicensed • Insured

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Potomac Masonry703-498-8526

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GOLDY BRICKCONSTRUCTION

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PAVING PAVING

Quality Tree Service & LandscapingReasonable prices. Licensed & insured

24 Hour Emergency Tree Service

25 years of experienceFree estimates

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TREE SERVICE TREE SERVICE

Quality Tree Service& Landscaping

Reasonable prices. Licensed & insured.

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25 years of experience – Free estimates 703-868-5358

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CHESAPEAKE/POTOMAC

WINDOW CLEANINGResidential Specialist

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A&S CONSTRUCTION

PAVING

Joseph Sealcoating

FreeEstimates!

703-494-5443

40 YearsExperience!

PAVINGSpecialist

Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

IntrospectivePerspectiveNot Effective

One of the greatest challenges – for me –in having cancer, is trying to live a “normal”life. And by “normal” I mean: emotionally.Obviously, having chemotherapy everythree weeks – with its week-long sideeffects, diagnostic scans every three months– with its associated anxiety waiting forresults, regular lab work, recurring appoint-ments with my oncologist, the change indiet, the pills, the non-Western alternativesthat I have semi embraced into my routine,the many well-meaning (and much appreci-ated) inquiries about my health/status, theoccasional fatigue and ongoing food/tasteissues, the neuropathy in my feet whichmakes walking and even sleeping difficult,the planning of my comings and goings andwhat else I might be doing in the futureALWAYS being contingent on my infusionschedule, and a few other effects I’m proba-bly forgetting because of another effect I’mnot remembering: “chemo brain,” (now adocumented side effect), complicates livingthat “normal” life. However, if I don’t find apath of least resistance somehow and get towhere I want to be, I risk getting lost in acycle of abnormality which no doubt willupset more than my figurative apple cart.

The problem is, sometimes you becomewho you don’t want to be (or at least who Idon’t want to be): a self-indulgent victim ofcircumstance. As I droned on about in theopening paragraph, there are ample reasonsfor me to not be who I want to be; andwhenever I find myself crossing that line ofcaring about myself at the expense of caringabout others, I worry that I’ve allowed thecancer to do more than just invade my body,that now I’ve allowed it to invade my mind.

Somehow, I have to remain true tomyself in order to keep the cancer fromdoing what cancer so often does. I need tomaintain my sense of humor and sunny dis-position; I need to look more to the futureand preoccupy less with the past or eventhe present – too much, anyhow; I need tolive my life like I’m living, not like I’m dying– despite the lyrics of a recently popularCountry song; and most importantly, some-how, I need to maintain an interest in thingsoutside of me, myself and I. Way backwhen, I remember being told by a personwhose opinion I value and whose cancerexperience predated mine: “It’s all aboutyou, Kenny.” And though I often took thatadvice to heart, and even employed it a fewtimes, it was more a coping/temporarymechanism than it was a permanent/live-your-life mechanism.

Living life has to be more than just aboutme; how boring! I don’t want to live inside.I want to live outside. What matters most iswhat goes on around me; not throughme/because of me. I want to be stimulatedby external goings on, not internal comingsoff. Granted, if I’m not in some sort of inter-nal balance, what goes on externally likelywon’t matter, but excluding the latter won’tenhance the former. They go hand in hand.Actually, they go hand in glove.

Cancer is insidious enough on its own.The physical damage doesn’t need to becompounded, exacerbated even, by addi-tional emotional damage. Maintaining one’spersonality and not getting consumed emo-tionally by your disease is the goal. Fightingback against this killer is more than just hop-ing and praying, “doctoring” and “prot-ocoling;” it’s about dignity and determina-tion. I am determined to not become some-one I’m not and when I am (like this pastweek), I feel as if I’ve been made worse forthe experience. I don’t know if I’ll ever beatcancer, but never do I want to feel like itbeat me.

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst

mistakes that can be made in hissubject and how to avoid them.

-Werner Heisenberg


www.GreatFallsGreatHomes.com

Jan & Dan LaythamDianne Van Volkenburg

Office: 703-757-3222Susan Canis

Associate Realtor 9841 Georgetown Pike • Great Falls VA 22066Sally MarvinAssociate Realtor

Great Falls $2,299,000 Great Falls $800,000

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